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PlainSpell

scream

UK /skɹiːm/noun, verb

scream is spelled S-C-R-E-A-M: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scream means “A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scream is screams.

How many letters and syllables are in scream?

Letters6: S-C-R-E-A-M
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing14 times per million words; the 5,679th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is scream?

Scream appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,679th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce scream?

  • UK /skɹiːm/

Scream has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-scream.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with scream?

6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as scream from its last stressed vowel (/im/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of scream

  • screams plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • screaming participle, present
  • screamed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does scream mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched vowel sound.

  2. 2

    A loud vocalisation of many animals, especially in response to pain or fear.

  3. 3

    A form of singing associated with the metal and screamo styles of music. It is a loud, rough, distorted version of the voice; rather than the normal voice of the singer.

  4. 4

    informalUsed as an intensifier.

    We had a real scream of a time at the beach.

  5. 5

    An exclamation mark.

verb

  1. 1

    To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek.

  2. 2

    To move quickly; to race.

    He almost hit a pole, the way he came screaming down the hill.

  3. 3

    informalTo be very indicative of; clearly having the characteristics of.

    Do you know what screams "I’m obnoxious"? People who feel the need to comment on every little thing they notice.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Scream in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcri (loud exclamation), crier (to make the sound of a scream)
GermanSchrei (loud exclamation), schreien (to make the sound of a scream)
Portuguesegrito, berro (loud exclamation), gritar, berrar (to make the sound of a scream)
Spanishgrito, alarido, baladro (loud exclamation), gritar, alaridar, desgañitarse (to make the sound of a scream)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does scream come from?

Inherited from Middle English scremen, borrowed from or cognate with Middle Dutch scremen (“to yell; shout”) and Old Norse skræma (“to terrify; scare”); compare West Flemish schreemen, Zealandic schreême (“to shout; yell; cry”), Swedish skrämma (“to spook; frighten”), Danish skræmme (“to scare”), West Frisian skrieme (“to weep”). Compare also Swedish skräna (“to yell; shout; howl”), Dutch schreien (“to cry; weep”), German schreien (“to scream”). Related to shriek, skrike.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after scream